Delaware County, Ohio - Chapter 5: Delaware - the County Seat, 1908

Chapter 5: Delaware - the County Seat

When Laid Out and by Whom - Its Settlement and History - Early Military Importance - Stores and Early Industries - Grozvth of Population - Incorporation - City Government Organized - Hosier of Officials - Public Buildings - Water Works - Fire Department - Cemeteries.

At the time of the creation of Delaware County by the Act of the Legislature, February 10, 1808, the town of Delaware hail no existence either dn paper or in fact. There can be little question, moreover, that had Muses Byxbe retained the interest which he originally had in the Berkshire settlement, the history of the comity seat would be altogether different from what it is. Its very establishment seems to be a monument to the bad faith of its founder. It was the original purpose of Mr. Byxbe to make Berkshire Corners not only the county seat of the new count}- which he knew would soon be erected, but if possihle, the capital of the State as well. It was on this expectation and on the promises of Byxbe to use his influence to this end thai many of the first settlers were induced to join his enterprise and become purchasers of land in the large tract which he had originally acquired. It was not long, however, until the plans of Byxhe seem to have undergone a change. Me disposed of the larger part of his holdings in Berkshire Township, as well as those in Berlin, Kingston, Genoa and Brown, and we shortly find him interested in an entirely different part of the county. In the month of December, [800, Abraham Baldwin, of \\-w II 1 ven, Connecticut, purchased of the Government a tract of eight thousand acres, which included the northeast section of Delaware Township and the third section of Brown. Air. Baldwin was a man of unusual attainments and enterprise. He was a graduate of Yale University, and later a tutor in that institution. He served in the Revolutionary War and afterwards practiced law in Savannah, Georgia. He was a member of the State Legislature, for some time president of the University of Georgia, a Representative in Congress and a United States Senator. He was never married, and at his death the large tracts of land which he owned in Ohio as well as other states went by devise to his three half-brothers and two half-sisters. As these heirs were widely separated it was not long before this propertv passed into the control of one of them, Henry Baldwin, a lawyer in Pittsburg. Shortly after the erection of Delaware County, an arrangement was entered into between Baldwin and Byxbe, through which Byxbe came into possession of the undivided one-half of the tracts in Delaware and Brown Townships, with the exception of two tracts of two hundred and fifty aires each out of the northeast corner of each section, previously sold by Abraham Baldwin to one William Wells. Judge Baldwin was. for many years, a part owner of the land on which Delaware was located, although from the first he delegated the entire control of it to Byxbe and seems to have given little active attention of his own to the founding of the city. He came from a family noted for their intellectual qualities and attainments and was himself one of the distinguished men of his time. Born in 1779, and graduating from Yale in 1707. he went to Pittsburg, where he became a noted lawyer. He was a representative in Congress from 1817 to 1822. He was appointed by President Jackson an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, in which capacity he served for many years. Though brilliant intellectually, he is said to have been a man of somewhat dissipated habits, through which he ultimately lost a considerable portion of the large fortune of which he was, at one time, possessed. He died in 1844.

With the shifting of Byxbe's interest from Berkshire to his newly acquired possessions in Delaware Township he immediately set to work to secure for them the advantages which the settlers of Berkshire had all along expected to enhance the value of their own property. The first matter of concern was the location of the county seat. As no town as yet existed in their territory it was necessary for Baldwin and Byxbe to establish one. The first location chosen by them was on the east bank of the Olentangy. Here they platted a town and recorded the plat in Franklin County, although it was never recorded in Delaware County. Byxbe, with all the resources at his command, at once began his efforts to secure the location of the county seat at his newly founded town. As might have been expected, his efforts met with bitter opposition from the Berkshire settlers, who had relied on his former promises and had just reason to accuse him of disloyalty to their interests. Byxbe had a considerable following, however, among those who were under obligations to him in various ways and whose interests were largely involved with his. and this, together with the natural advantages of Delaware itself, terminated the controversy in his favor, the special commissioners locating the countv seat at Delaware in March, 1808.

Fo» reasons which are not now definitely known, but probably owing to superior advantages on the other side of the river, the first site chosen for the town on ,the east bank was soon abandoned, and on May 9, 1808, a new site on the west bank was selected and a town platted which was the real beginning of the present city of Delaware. The following extract taken from the plat as recorded, will indicate the original location and extent of the town. "This town is laid off into 186 lots, containing, by estimation, ~~l/2 square poles each, be the same more or less, 6^4 rods by \2y2 rods, excepting lots Nos. 53, 54, 55, 56, 89, 90, 91 and 92, which by the variation of William Street from west 17 degrees to the north, from Washington Street to Liberty Street. The streets which run from north to south are Henry, Union, Sandusky, Franklin, Washington and Liberty Streets and those running from east to west are North, Winter, William, Abraham. Tammany and South Streets, which cross the other streets at right angles. All the streets are four poles wide except William, Abraham and Sandusky Streets, which are six poles in width. The lots or squares including Delaware Run, or which are not numbered, extending from east to west through the town, are reserved for future disposal, or for the benefit of the town, as the proprietors may think proper hereafter." There was included in this plat that part of the present city of Delaware bounded by Central Avenue, Henry, South and Liberty Streets, South Street at that time running through to Liberty. It is apparent that patriotic impulses evidently inspired the founders in the naming of the streets of their newly created town, and it is said that it was the purpose of Byxbe, originally to call the town itself Warrentown in honor of General Warren. Some of the streets were named after those who were connected with the early history of the town. Most of the original names remain to the present time, although North Street is now Central Avenue, while Abraham Street has become University Avenue and Tammany, Park Avenue. Abraham Street was named for the original owner of the property: Henry, for one of the proprietors; William, for a brother of Henry Baldwin, who had an interest in the property, and

Winter, developed from a corruption of Witter, the maiden name of Airs. Moses Byxbe. Delaware Run then flowed in its natural course, and William Street deflected to the north after crossing Washington Street to avoid it. The square hounded by Union Avenue, Washington Street, Park Avenue and Liberty Street, was reserved for a parade ground, and was used for that purpose for years. About the time the city was organized, it was converted into a park, and Dr. Merrick, who was then president of Ohio Wesleyan University, was instrumental in having hundreds of shade trees planted here. Another square bounded by Abraham, Franklin and Sandusky Streets and Delaware Run was set aside for public buildings. The square bounded by Central Avenue. Sandusky, Franklin and Winter Streets, was given by the proprietor for a burying ground, and for religious purposes. The little town remained as thus originally laid out for a period of nearly thirty years, no additions being made until the year 1836. On the occasion of his final visit to Delaware in 1824, Judge Baldwin presented the parade ground and the sulphur spring property to the village.

With the location of the town and its selection as the county seat, the active settlement of Delaware began. Indeed even before this the first settler had made his appearance. In the fall of 1807 Joseph Barber erected a log house just southeast of the sulphur spring on the ground now constituting a part of the university campus. He did not remain in the neighborhood for any great length of time, however, and his influence on the further growth of the village was slight.

As soon as his efforts to have Delaware made the county seat had proved successful, Mr. Byxbe began preparations to transfer his residence from Berkshire, there. He erected a frame dwelling on the north side of William Street, between Henry and Union Streets, reserving the whole square on which his house Stood for his own use. Having sold his house ami farm in Berkshire, in the early part of M.iv he removed his household goods to his new residence and with his family came to

Delaware to reside. In the settlement of nearly every community there has always been some one man who, through superior energy and ability, as well as through firmer faith in the future development and passibilities of the place, has taken the lead in all the various enterprises necessary to insure its success. Col. Byxbe certainly bore this relation to Delaware in its early history. His fertile mind was constantly planning for the future of the town ; his indomitable energy was constantly expending itself, both in inducing new settlers to take up their abode in the village, and in providing for the establishment of the various enterprises which were necessary for the comfort and prosperity of the incoming settlers. Self interest, no doubt, was his animating motive. He seems never to have had the genuine respect of the community, even though they were ready to follow him as their leader and recognized the great value of his ability in shaping the early progress of the town.

Along with Byxbe came a number of other settlers who were to have a prominent part in the early history of the community. In Berkshire were a number of families who were closely attached to the Byxbe interests who had just recently come to that settlement from Pennsylvania, and who, as soon as the interests of Byxbe himself had shifted, followed his fortunes likewise in the newlv established settlement. Among" them may lie mentioned Si ilomon Smith, Azariah Root, Nathan Messenger. Reuben Lamb and Rev. Jacob Drake. The latter built the first brick house to be erected in Delaware, on the southwest corner of William and Franklin Streets, it being notable for the fact that his wife laid all of the inner wall herself, masons being a scarcity in those days. Drake was a Baptist preacher and a surveyor as well, and he also' served as the first treasurer of the newly established county, and as the first mayor of Delaware. His resignation addressed to William Little is now in the possession of Robert Powers, of The First National Bank. It was he, too, who, in connection with the Rev. Joseph Hughes, established the first paper in Delaware. Azariah Root built a house of

Axd Representative Citizens

Henry Streets. He was the first county surveyor. Nathan Messenger was the son-inlaw af Colonel Byxbe, who erected a house for him on the southeast corner of Sandusky and William Streets. Solomon Smith was the first sheriff of the county and came from Chillicothe where he had been a teacher. Aside from Byxbe himself, few persons, perhaps, occupied a more prominent position in the early life of the community than Reuben Lamb. He practiced medicine for a number of years and was also the first county recorder.

Among other settlers who came in a short time may be mentioned Silas Dunham, who came from the Berlin Settlement; Noah Spaulding. from .Berkshire; Joab Norton, from Orange ; Aaron Welch and Ira Carpenter, from Liberty; Nathaniel and William Little, Paul D. and Thomas Butler, from Worthington. and Jacob Kensell. The settlement soon took on a vigorous growth, Colonel Byxbe was the guiding spirit in all its various activities. He was constantly devising and putting into execution plans for the prosperity of the community. He was an associate judge of the newly created court. He promoted the building of the new road which should unite the settlement with the older communities already established. He established the first store, in which he placed his son, and he also erected the first saw mill and grist mill within the limits of the town. In addition to this he was the first postmaster, and later he was proprietor of a tavern. He was his own sales agent in the disposal of the large tracts of land which he owned jointly with Baldwin. It is easy to see the stimulating effect the restless activity of such a one must have had on the life of the village.

From the time he first became interested in that part of the count}-, it had probably been Colonel Bixbe's ambition to make the town which he should found the capital of the State. Up until 1810 the capital had been at Chillicothe. and from that time until 1812 at Zanesville. It finally became necessary, however, to determine upon a definite location, and a number of places became competitors for the honor.

There seem to have been nine of them in all. and they held out widely varying inducements to the special commission appointed by the Legislature to select the site. The offer of Byxbe and Baldwin was as follows, viz., that they would give the grounds, erect the buildings, and lay off four thousand acres in town lots, one-half the proceeds arising from the sale of which should go into the treasurv of the State. The only other offer which bore any comparison to that of Baldwin and Byxbe was the one made by four parties who were interested in the tract on the Scioto opposite the town of Franklinton. For quite a while the contest was in doubt. At length. however, the special commission reported in favor of the proposition of Byxbe and Baldwin. When the legislature came to act upon it, they rejected the report and decided in favor of the site opposite Franklinton. The loss of the capital was, no doubt, a severe blow to Delaware and its immediate prosperity. The possibility that the capital' would lie located here had undoubtedly served to enhance the value of property and to attract settlers. With its prospects in this direction suddenly cut off, there could not but result a depression in the general activity of the community, from which it took many years for it to recover.

Early Military Importance

Delaware was a place of considerable military importance during the War of 1812. It was situated on the most practicable route between Chillicothe. the state capital at that time, and the scene of operations around Sandusky and Detroit, and it was, for a time, the headcpiarters of General Harrison. "Among the earliest troops to be called out was a company of light horse belonging to the State Militia, on the muster rolls of which were to lie found the familiar names of Elias Murray, as captain ; James W. Crawford, as first lieutenant : David Prince as second lieutenant, and Joseph Prince. Robert Jamison, Sylvester Root, Morris Cowgill, Alexander and William Smith, Ralph S. Longwell, John Slack, J. Harter, Forest Meeker. John Wilson. Thomas Dunio8 ham and James Carpenter, as privates. This company was employed as a raiding force, and was called out at different times for a period of service not exceeding at any time over forty - lavs. Each man furnished his own horse and equipments, and over his shoulder was slung the inevitable canteen of whiskey. * * * The company was ordered to Detroit and made a raid into Canada. Tearing down some fine farm buildings west of the river, they made rafts of the lumber thus obtained and crossed to the Canadian shore. There they destroyed property of all kinds, burning mills, hay and grain, and recrossing without loss. * * * A company of infantry, raised by Captain Foos in the northern part of the county, drew a number of men from Delaware Township and village, and, among others, Erastus Bowe, who settled in Brown in- 1809. This company went to Fremont, then known as Lower Sandusky, and helped to build Fort Croghan, Air. Bowe breaking the ground for that purpose. After Hull's surrender this company disbanded and returned to Delaware.

The war, coming as it did so soon after the misfortune Delaware suffered in failing to have the state capital located here, did much to relieve the depression of business consequent on that unfortunate event. The forces of General Winchester and others were centered along the line of Urbana, St. Mary's and Fort Defiance, while the troops, artillery and supplies from Pennsylvania came by way of Canton, Wooster and Mansfield to Fort Meigs, the place of rendezvous, while the Virginia and Kentucky re-enforcements came by way of Chillicothe. along the various roads leading through Delaware County. In February, 181 3, General Harrison concentrated the greater part of his troops at Fort Meigs and then retired with his headquarters to Delaware, where he occupied rooms in Colonel Byxbe's house. Also Governor Shell))-, of Kentucky, came in command of the troops belonging to his state, and made his headquarters in the cabin which had formerly been erected by Barber, heretofore mentioned as the first house built in Delaware. Later the Virginia troops arrived and camped just north of the village.

Naturally the presence of so many soldiers gave a great impetus to the general business activities of the place. As usual. Colonel Byxbe was alert to the opportunities thus presented, taking large contracts for supplying the army with the various necessities required during their stay in the community. The one store in the village, had, for the time being, a great increase in its patronage, and the settlers found a ready market for whatever they had to sell that could be consumed by an army. A recruiting station was opened in Delaware, ami many, inspired by motives of patriotism or lured by love of adventure or expectation of gain, joined their fortunes with the troops. General Harrison had sold all of his teams and pack animals to save wintering them, and when the time came for the army to move northward all the available teams in the community were pressed into service.

Stores And Early Industries

As is always the case in a newly started settlement, the mercantile business for the first few years was one of little importance. There was but one store in Delaware up to the time of the war of 1812, and that was conducted by Moses Byxbe. Jr.. a son of Colonel Byxbe. The son, however, seems to have been wholly lacking in the business ability and enterprise of his father and soon came to grief. Various unsuccessful speculations finally landed him in the county jail. One of the earliest merchants in Delaware was William Little. He was a saddler by trade, and, coming originally fn >m Connecticut, first located in Worthington. Later, however, attracted by the outlook for the newly established settlement at Delaware, he came here and shortly went into trade. He bought out a stock of goods which had been sent up from Worthington as a branch business and established himself in a small brick building on the southwest corner of Sandusky and Winter Streets, where he continued for a number of years. Joseph L. Webb was another of the early store-keepers of Delaware. He came in the year 181 9, induced to do so through the representations of Colonel Byxbe, who happened to meet him on one his trips east. Webb came of a wealthy family in New York, lured away from the comforts of his eastern home by the apparent possibilities of great wealth in the western frontier. The year after his arrival he set up in business in the same building in which Moses Byxbe, Jr., had conducted his unsuccessful venture, but he seems to have had no greater success than had the building's former occupants. After continuing in business for a time he closed up with a loss of $10,000 and returned to the East. Horton Howard, a Quaker, was another of the early store-keepers. He occupied a yellow wooden building on the east side of Sandusky m Street. Hezekiah Kilbourn opened a store in 1823 on the northwest corner of Sandusky and Winter Streets but sold out in the following year to Caleb Howard and Anthony Walker, who went into business in his building. After they dissolved partnership Walker went into business with Hosea Williams. Dr. Lamb, the first physician in the community, next occupied the Kilbourn building, and, as was natural, a considerable part of his stock consisted of drugs. In 1831 Alexander Kilbourn erected a frame building on Sandusky Street and started a general store. This building is still standing, having been moved, however, to a location just south of the present office building of Marriott & Freshwater.

The mercantile business in the early day was fraught with difficulties such as can scarce be imagined at the present time. We quote, in this connection, some interesting facts from a former county history: "Philadelphia was the nearest point from which the western merchant could buy his goods from original sources, and from there they had to be shipped in huge wagons over a tedious and uncertain journey. Mr. Little was in the habit of going to Philadelphia once a year, spending some weeks or two months on the trip, and waggoning his goods home, frequently at a cost of $18.75 per hundred. These invoices included, at a later day, a full line of dry goods, embracing velvets, satins, silks, cassimers and the commoner goods. Then there were hats, shoes, crockery, hardware, medicines and groceries. For year after year money was very scarce, and all business became a system of barter, and goods were exchanged almost exclusively for produce. The trade with Indians was very large, the natives coming in for fifty miles around, sometimes fifty at a time. They brought cranberries, maple sugar and syrup, pelts and furs, and bought only the finest goods. The wi imen would take only the finest broadcloths for blankets and petticoats, while the men chose the brightest prints for shirts. The ordinary prints which now sell for 8 cents per yard sold then for $1.00, while the higher priced sold for Si. 50 per yard. Every store had upon its counter a flask of whiskey with a glass and it was expected that every < me who came into the store would avail himself or herself of the hospitality thus set forth. Sugar made by the Indians or settlers found its way in large quantities to the stores where it was traded off to the Kentuckians. who came with large wagon loads of tobacco every spring to exchange for commodities. This was in large demand among the Indians, who made a mixture of tobacco and sumac leaves, calling it 'Kinnikinic' "

In the early days there was no institution of greater importance, perhaps, than the tavern. The most prominent and influential citizens did not hesitate to engage in it, and the number of taverns in existence at that time in the village would now, perhaps, be considered out of proportion to the size of the place. We have, in a former chapter, quoted a description of the pioneer tavern from the pen of Dr. Hills. Barber's cabin, the first to be erected in Delaware, was, likewise, the first building to be devoted to the purpose of tavern keeping, and Barber himself was its first keeper. It was a sort of center for all the various activities of the neighborhood. Here the people gathered to exchange their go>-i]> as well as to hear news of the outside world from any chance stranger that happened along. Here all the public gatherings were arranged, all the notices were posted, and even the first court was held. Barber did not Ions: conno tinue in the business, but soon sold out to a man by the name of Spaulding, who. in turn, sold out to Robinson. While it was without a competitor for a time, yet it was not long until Colonel Byxbe joined the business of tavern keeping to his various other activities, erecting a brick house for that purpose east of his dwelling on William Street. It was undoubtedly of great advantage to Colonel Byxbe to be in a position where he could have the opportunity to early impress every incoming stranger with the possibilities of his newly founded town. "A long wooden building was built at an early date where Solomon Smith first entertained the public, and Mrs. Byxbe. desirous of entertaining those who came to attend court, persuaded Colonel Byxbe to buy him out, and for some time continued the business. He was succeeded in the same business, after an interval of some months, by Ezra Griswold, in 1821. In the meanwhile Aaron Welch built a tavern opposite the Episcopal Church, on Winter Street, where lie entertained the public several vears, and in 1816 built a large brick building on Sandusky Street. Air. Welch died before it was completed, but it served its purpose for years. Contemporary with the later years of Mr. Welch as tavern keeper, was Elam Vining, Sr., who occupied for several years the Messenger House, on the southeast corner of William and Sandusky Streets. Another hotel stood on the northeast corner of Winter and Sandusky Streets. An early proprietor was Major Strong and another was a Mr. Hinton - a distant relative of Otho Hinton, of later tame - who was succeeded by a Mr. Dunbar. It was during the time of the latter gentleman, in 1817. that President Monroe, making a trip through the West, came with a large suite on horseback from Sandusky, and stopped with Dunbar over Sunday. The death of Mr. Dunbar's wife soon forced him to retire from the business and. in [818, General Sidney Moore and Pardon Sprague bought him out. Mr. Moore was married on Sunday, February [St, and the following day the new couple took possession of their new business. In (822 Mr. Griswold moved from the building he first occupied as a hotel and printing office, into a brick building erected by Jacob Drake, on the southwest corner of North and Sandusky Streets, where he continued the double business for many years.

On September 9, 1826, Colonel Moses Byxbe diedi For two years before his death he had been deranged. During all the early years of the town he had been the prime mover in all her activities. Being a man of indomitable energy combined with exceptional executive ability, he was remarkably well fitted to successfully combat the difficulties encountered in establishing a settlement on the frontier. The beautiful city of Delaware, as she exists today, is a monument to his enterprise and courage. While he thus possessed these qualities so necessary to the performance of the task which he set for himself, yet he seems never to have had the sincere love and respect of the community with which he surrounded himself. Hard and grasping in his disposition, and knowing no criterion but success, his methods were not always such as could command the approval of those who believe in justice and fair dealing at all times and under all circumstances. All his efforts seem to have been inspired solely for the purpose of acquiring wealth rather than through the patriotic desire of reclaiming the wilderness for civilization for its own sake alone. In his life purpose he was eminently successful, amassing a fortune which, in those days, might well have been called princely. Yet. towards the latter part of his life, he became involved in financial difficulties, largely through the recklessness of his son. who seems to have inherited little of his father's capacity for business; and it was probably owing to this fact that he lost his mental faculties before the close of his life. Byxbe had. beside his son Moses, already mentioned, another. Appleton, who was an imbecile. He also had three daughters who married respectively Hon. Elias Murray. Rev. Joseph Hughes and Hon. L. H. Cowles. all men of prominence and influence in the community at the time.

part of an address delivered by Cyrus Piatt, fi ir years one of the prominent citizens of the town, at a meeting- of the Delaware Pioneer Association, August 25, 1898: "That old brick house at the southwest corner of William and Union Streets was built and occupied by Dr. Reuben Lamb as his residence about the year 1810. He was one of the first settlers of the town. * * * It seemed to be the intention of the original proprietors and early pioneers of the town to make William Street the principal street of the town, both for business and residences. Nearly all the buildings put up on William Street, east of Sandusky Street, were substantial brick houses, generally two stories high, with front door in the middle, opening into the hall where the stairs were located. The original Byxbe residence was built in this style, as many of you may remember. A short distance east of this Byxbe house, fronting on the street, was a small, brick building, say about 20 feet square, used by Air. Byxbe, Sr.. for his office. * * * In this office building the first post-office was opened and continued there for several years. Henry Street, north of William, was not then opened, and an apple orchard extended from the Byxbe residence clear down to the river bank, north side of William Street.

"Dr. Lamb owned considerable ground adjoining his residence on the west side, extending south to the run. Directly south of his residence he put up a frame building near the run in which he and Mr. Hayes, the father of the late Ex-President R. B. Hayes, conducted the business of distilling whiskey, an article which, at that time, was considered one of the necessities of life, if used in moderation. The taverns all kept it in their liars for the specul aco nnmodation of travelers.

"I do not know just when the exodus oi residents on William Street to Sandusky Street commenced. As new settlers came in who wanted to engage in business they gave the preference to Sandusky Street. Mr. William Little built a one-story brick house on the southwest corner of Sandusky and Winter Streets and opened a store there. * * * Joseph L. Webb rented a room on the northeast corner of William and Sandusky Streets, opened his goods and commenced business there. In the year 182 1 Mr. Webb put up a two-story frame building that combined storeroom and residence, where S. P. Shur's store now is, and opened his stock of goods in this store-room, and his family occupied the residence. The ground between this building of Mr. Webb's and Mr. William Little's onestory brick store on the corner above, was vacant and used by Mr. Webb as a garden, and was enclosed by a high board fence extending from the corner of Mr. Little's store down to Mr. Webb's house. The only other structure on the west side of Sandusky Street between Winter and William, were Thomas Butler's saddle shop and residence, on the ground now occupied by Templar Hall building, and a two-story frame near the corner of William Street, built and occupied by Dr. James H. Hills with his family, who were among the early settlers here.

"The only buildings on the east side of Sandusky Street, between Winter and William. were a frame on the corner where the Hi itel Donavin is now located, in which Pardon Sprague kept tavern ; the residence of Mr. William Little, a large two-story brick, standing on a large lot, some twenty feet back from the street, on ground now occupied by the First National Bank, and the large building adjoining it on the south. The residence and cabinet shop of Mr. William Mansur were about where the 'Gazette' office is now located. Mr. Hezekiah Kilbourne, an eastern man, bought the ground extending from Winter Street north on the west side of Sandusky Street to the alley, and built a one-story brick store room on the corner of Sandusky and Winter and opened a general stock of goods in it. I think it was he who built the large two-story brick residence that was owned and occupied for several years by Mrs. Kilbourne, widow of Alexander Kilbourne, deceased, that stood on the ground now occupied by the Steeves Block and the Hill's Bros, wholesale grocery store.

adjoining, of Airs. Kilbonrne, and added to the building on the west end, fronting on Winter Street, and on the north side fronting on Sandusky Street, with a wide porch on that side, carrying the building up two lull stories, thus making of it a commodious and pleasant residence. When the work of remodeling this house was completed Dr. Lamb's family left the William Street house and moved into their new house which sunn became noted for hospitality by entertaining visitors from neighboring towns and socinl evening gatherings of neighbors. When Bishop Chase and other clergy came here to hold service in St. Peter's Church, they were entertained usually at the Lamb mansion, as I learn by mother's diary. * * * There were no houses south of the run, no 'South Delaware' in those early days. That part of town was all open commons and used for pasture. Cows would be turned loose in the morning and allowed to roam where they pleased in search of pasture, and we would have to hunt them up and drive them home in the evening."

One of the most historic mansions in Delaware, built in the early day, and which, by reason of its being" later the birthplace of President Hayes, ought to receive mention here, is what was known as the Messenger House on East William Street. When it was first built it was regarded as the finest residence here although it has long since fallen from its f< irmer glory, so far as appearances are concerned. It is thus described by one of the older citizens who has long been a resident of the town: "It was a small brick house, two stories high, with a pitched roof, one side facing William Street. The front door was in the middle of this side, with a room on each side. There were four frame windows in the lower story, two on each side of the door and five in the upper. The root was shingled and a log L added to the back side. The brick part was about jo by 30 feet, and the log part 10 by 15 feet. The log part has since been rebuilt and a frame addition takes its place. With this and a few other slight changes the house remains the same as it did three-quarters of century ago." It was in this house that one of the first schools in the place was established. For a time it did duty as a store room, but for a number of years now it has again been doing service as a dwelling.

Growth Of Population

For a number of years after the War of 1812 the growth of Delaware was slow. The lands of the "New Purchase" coming into the market, sadly arrested the prosperity of the town and interfered greatly with its expansion. In 1 836 Judge T. W. Powell and Samuel Rheems platted a tract of land just south of the original boundaries of the town between Sandusky and Liberty Streets, and a little later M. D. Pettibone made another addition just south of that of Powell and Rheems. The unsold Baldwin lands just north of the town limits were also platted about the same time, and there were then no further additions made until 1843. Since then the town has gradually expanded in various directions, new additions being made as its growth in population would seem to warrant.

The village, as incorporated in 1816, included the tract originally platted by Baldwin and Byxbe in laying out the town on the west side of the river. As new additions were made, however, from time to time, the town outgrew its original boundaries, and it was but natural that an agitation should arise for an extension of the corporation limits. It was not until 1852, however, that any measures were taken with this end in view. In that year the question of extending the corporation limits across the river was submitted to a vote of the people and was carried by a vote of 270 to 12. The territory taken in at this time included the larger part of the present limits of the corporation on the east side of the Olentangv, extending as far south as Vine Street, and including a part of the fair grounds. In 1868 there was a general extension of the corporation limits on all sides, bringing the dimensions of the town pretty near to what they are at the present time. There have been several extensions sincethen, ho\vever. In 1874 a tract was added on the north which fixed the northern boundary of the town where it is at present. In the next year Lot 13 on the east side of the river was added. There was no further enlargement of the corporation boundaries then until 1893 when the west portions of lots 18 an 1 1 9 were brought within the corporation limits and the western boundary of the town established as it is today. The only extension since then has consisted of a small tract just northeast of the bend in the Olentangy River in the north part of the town. The corporation. boundaries, as thus established, embrace an area of nearly four square miles, extending approximately two and one-third miles both from north to south and from east to west in its most extended portions.

The growth in the population of the town is a matter of equal interest with the extension of her physical boundaries. "In the fall of 1808 thirty-two votes were polled, and, adopting the ordinary rule of counting five persons for each vote, the number of inhabitants for the whole township would reach 150. But. without invalidating this rule it will be observed that the circumstances of the early settlement of Delaware were unusual, and that this number is an overestimate. A number of voters are known to have been men without families, or whose families were not in the township (the law in this latter respect not being then in vogue, or not enforced as now ) ; others, as Dr. Lamb and Jacob Drake, had very small families ; and other families were so grown to maturity as to have more than their proportion of voters, as in case of the Byxbe family. These conditions were unusually prominent, and it is probable that there were not over 100 inhabitants in the whole township. In the winter of 1816 a wood chopper standing on the hill where Monnett Hall now stands, on one of those clear frosty mornings when the smoke goes straight up into the air, looked over the valley and counted the evidences of thirty-two houses in the little town. In 1820 we meet with an estimate that places the number of houses at fifty and another, by actual count, places the number near sixty in 1823. Adopting the ordinary rule of five to a dwelling, we find the number of inhabitants in the town in 1816, 150; in 1820, about 250; and in 1823 nearly 300." The census of 1830 gives the city a population of ^32; of 1840, 898; of 1850, 2,074; of i860, 3,889; of 1870, 6.000; of 1880. 6,894; of 1890, 8.224; of 1900, 7,940. It would seem from this that, just as in the case of the entire county, there has been an actual decrease in the city's population in the preceding decade. Many, however, were inclined to doubt the correctness of the census of 1900, as there is every indication that the population of the city has been constantlv increasing. At the present time, from a careful enumeration made in the interest of the Sunday schools of the city, during the past year, it is a conservative estimate to place the number of inhabitants at 10,000.

Incorporation

Delaware was first incorporated in 1816, a special act for that purpose having been passed by the Legislature. The powers granted to the village do not seem to have been very extensive and many of the various functions necessary for its government were still perfi irmed by the township officers. The general management of the affiairs of the village was placed in the hands of a Board of Trustees, elected by the people. This form of government continued until 1849, when, through M. D. Pettibone, who was the member of the Legislature from the county at the time, another act was secured from the Legislature providing for a Town Council consisting of eight members, with powers considerably greater than those which had theretofore been given to the Board of Trustees. This new Council chose from their number a mayor. recorder, treasurer and assessor. They also elected a marshal, though from outside of their number, together w;ith a street committee of three men, two of whom were not members of the council. In 1841 the people again sought a change in their government, and again an act was passed conferring still larger powers upon the Council.

City Government Organised

In that year, after a petition had been presented to the Council, the matter was submitted to the people at the spring election and decided in favor of the change. In the following July the city was divided off into three wards. In 1875 it was re-apportioned into five. This division continued until 1891 when there was a re-division of the city into six wards. Again in 1899 there was a change in the boundaries, though not in the number of the wards. A few years ago came the decision of the Supreme Court rendering void all of the Special Acts passed from time to time for the government of the various municipalities throughout the commonwealth and making necessary the enactment of a code which sin mid apply tu all alike. Under this act, passed in 1902, the city of Delaware was again re-organized, in common with every other municipality in Ohio, and has continued on the basis then established to the present day. Under the former regime, after the village had been merged into the city, the officers consisted of a mayor, marshal, solicitor, street commissioner, two members of the Council from each ward, a clerk of the Council and a city engineer, the two latter, together with the police, being appointed by the Council, while all the others were elective. The county treasurer served also as the treasurer of the municipality. The changes made by the code in the various municipal offices, inasmuch as they are common to every municipality of the same class in the State, need not be enumerated here. We give herewith, however, a complete list of the persons who have filled the various offices in the municipality since it rose to the rank of a city in 1873. Although the chief of police has not been an elective officer since the enactment of the code, yet we include him with the other officers since he is the direct successor of the mershal, who was elective under the old regime :

[872 - Mayor. John 1). Van Deman ; clerk, Edward A. Pratt; marshal, (.'. V. < Kvston; solicitor, fackson Hippie; street commissioner, William Owston.

1876 - Mayor, J. A. Barnes; clerk, Edward A. Pratt ; marshal, C. V. Owston ; solicitor, G. G. Banker ; street commissioner, William Hollenbaugh.

1886 - Mayor, Henri E. Buck: clerk. Matt. H. Wagner; marshal, Chas. F. Miller; solicitor, N. F. Overturf (resigned as solicitor March 5, 1888, and H. H. Beecher was appointed to fill out his unexpired term) ; street commissioner, Peter T. Engard.

1894 - Mayor, H. L. Eaker; clerk. Abner Genier (succeeded before expiration of term by W. H. Altrock); marshal. P. S. English; solicitor, Clarence Jones; street commissioner, Richard O'Keefe.

F. D. King, clerk ; 1 st Ward, F. J. Klee ; 2nd Ward, Victor Hardin ; 3rd Ward. W. J. Davis ; 4th Ward. J. F. Gaynor ; Membersat-large. Dr. J. H. Miller, Adam Siegfried, A. J. Arehart. Board of Public Service : Prof. Richard Parsons, W. B. Campbell, Chris Potter; clerk, F. D. King; superintendent of streets, Frank Rutter; superintendent of cemeteries and parks, D. Grinton ; city engineer and superintendent of sewers, George Irwin. Board of Public Service: Dr. A. J. Willey. Edward R. Thompson. Board of Education : Dr. A. J. Pounds. W. F. Dodge. Dr. E. M. Semans ; superintendent of schools, W. McK. Vance ; truant officer, T. M. Baily. City Examining Board: William McK. Vance, Henry T. Main ; clerk, John Shoemaker. Board of Librarv Trustees : D. H. Battenfield, V. D. Stavnian, H. T. Main. Board of Health: E. C. Hudspeth. Dr. J. K.

Public Buildings

For a number of years the government of the village and city was administered from the old building on West Winter Street, erected in 1824, for use as a Methodist Church. Later it had done service as a school building; and when the corporation came into possession of it in i860 it was fitted up as a market-house, council-room and lock-up. Court was. for a time, held in the council chamber, and the lower part of the building was used as an engine house. Its usefulness, however, was inevitably bound to diminish sooner or later, as the constantly enlarging city required more extensive and commodious quarters for the maintenance and government of its various interests, and for which the facilities afforded by the old church building were wholly inadequate. Consequently, in the latter part of the seventies, there began to be an agitation looking towards the erection of a building which should meet the needs of the city. In March of the year 1879 a committee which had been appointed by the Council for that purpose, reported favorably on a project to erect an engine-house, council-room, mayor's office, etc., calling attention to the fact that the time was especially opportune, inasmuch as the entire indebtedness of the city. $16,000, would be cancelled within the next two years, and recommending that the Legislature be asked to authorize a bond issue of $6,000. Later the plans seem to have undergone an enlarg'ement in the public mind and in the spring election of the year 1879, the people voted, by a majority of 449, to build a City Hall. The Council, soon after, took steps to secure a bond issue of $35,000, advertised for plans for the construction of the building, and appointed a building committee, consisting of C. B. Adams. W. T. Watson and F. Bonneman, members of the Council. The plan submitted by Mr. F. F. Schnitzer was accepted and the Shoub property at the southeast corner of William and Sandusky Streets was chosen as the site for the new building, and purchased at a cost of $10,000. The work on the building was done, at first, under the direct supervision of the Council, through their committee, but later a contract was let for its completion. It was finished in the year 1882, having cost something over a hundred thousand dollars, and is now one of the most commodious and serviceable structures of its kind to be found in any city of the size of Delaware, providing as it does, aside from its beautiful auditorium, a place for the administration of all the various departments of the city government.

Water Works

An improvement which meant much to the city was the introduction of a svstem of water works. In 1888. The Delaware Water Company was incorporated by eastern capitalists. The same year the City Council granted the company a franchise for the use of the streets, and the following year the mains were laid, machinery was installed and the plant was completed. The water was turned on and the system was accepted and approved by the city on October 30, 1889. Up to the present time about 22>-2 miles of water-mains have been laid, and 256 fire hydrants have been placed. The water was originally taken from wells in the gravel fiats near the Olentangy, about three miles north of the city. Later, four wells, each 225 feet deep, were bored through the solid rock. Three of these are eight inches and one is six inches in diameter. Seventy-five or eighty per cent, of all the water served to the people of Delaware comes from these wells, and it is claimed that not a case of typoid fever in this city has ever been traced to this water supply. The plant consists of two pumping-engines having a daily capacity of 2,000,000 gallons each, and an air compressor for forcing water from the deep wells to the surface. One new 150-horsepower boiler was installed about a year ago, and besides this there are two 75-horsepower boilers. The steam and pumping outfit is in duplicate, one set being always idle, which insures a never-failing supply of water. About 9,000 people are served with water. There are about 1,550 individual services, fifty per cent, of the water being measured through meters. Hon. F. M. Marriott has been president of the company for a number of years, and Capt. C. W. Wiles has been secretary and superintendent since 1892.

Fire Department

No department of the city is characterized by greater efficiency than that of the fire department, evolved from the self-constituted organization of pioneer days. In the infantile days of Delaware, the fire alarm was a signal for every able-bodied citizen to rush forth, bucket in hand, and do his utmost to put out the fire, and this continued to be the method of fighting fires until the middle thirties. In 1834 two engines were purchased by the Council, small affairs described as "small rectangular boxes, with a pump worked by levers, at which four men, by crowding could find mom to work." In October, 1834, the Council took the first steps in the organization of a fire department, laying out the city in two districts. No. 1 , of which Henry Moore was made Captain, including all that part north of Winter Street, and No. 2, captained by Edward Potter, all south of that street. In each a company was organized to include a captain, one or two subordinate officers and twentyfive men. the director of operations at the fires being the captain whose engine first arrived at the scene of action. In 1838 two small engine houses were erected, one on the southwest corner of William and Sandusky Streets, and the other on the Court House lot. In 1846 a large hand-engine of the Hunneman pattern was purchased for $675. and other necessary apparatus brought the expenditure at the time up to $978.50. The Council also purchased a hose-reel and hook and ladder truck for $147.58, and these additions to the departmental equipment necessitating more n null, the west end of the William Street market-house was fitted up as a fire station. A fire association was next formed, consisting of a company organized to take charge of the new engine, known as the Olentangy Engine Company ; the Neptune Hose Company : the Rough and Ready Hook and Ladder Company: and the Protection Company, which worked one of the smaller hand engines. It was officered by a chief engineer and two assistants. The Protection Company disbanded after a brief existence. Another company was organized in 1856, Washington Fire Company No. 2, for which a new engine and hose-reel were purchased, at a cost of Sj5i,- 184.88. In 1857 two substantial brick structures were completed at a cost of $1,500. one on the corner of the parade grounds and the other at Franklin and North Streets. The east part of the city made a demand for better fire protection, and in 1864 a second-hand engine was bought of the city of Cleveland for $800, a company was organized, and a station erected for the sum of $3,20.4.76. but the latter was not completed until in 1868. December 15, 1870. the city bought a brass-plated Silsby Rotary engine of the third size, for which the old market-house was fitted up. The first fire team was then purchased and George H. Aigin appointed engineer. This was an important step in advancement, and was followed in 1874 by the purchase of another Silsby rotary of the second size. 'Sir. Aigin was transferred to the new engine, known as W. E. Moore, No. 2, and \Y. E. Kruck became engineer of the old engine. Delaware No. 1. The hose-reels, until this time manned by volunteer companies, were next replaced by a horse hose-reel, and in 1876 the hook and ladder wagon was fitted for horse power. All of the apparatus was housed in one building, and the company consisted of seventeen men and the chief. The city fixed the annual appropriation at S3. 500, out of which came the expense of keeping the teams, and the yearly salaries of two engineers and two drivers, the others receiving fifty cents per hour for service.

The engine-house at City Hall had, when it was installed, at the time of the building's erection, two steam fire-engines, a hook and ladder wagon and hoset-cart. with four horses. In 1895 a new hose-wagon was purchased.

One of the steam engines was replaced with a chemical in 1885. January 1, [908, Station No. 2, on Potter Street, was completed an 1 occupied. It is a two-story brick building and was erected at a cost of $3,767. When the city purchased the lot on which Station No. 2 was built, there was a two-story brick house there which cost $1,500, in which two men belonging to the station reside. The water pressure being 65 pounds, it is not necessary under ordinary circumstances to use the steamer, which is kept in reserve.

The last hose-wagon purchased was remodelled into a combination hose and chemical, and a new combination hose and chemical was purchased for Station No. 1 at a cost of $1,650. The department now has six head of horses and 4.500 feet of hose. There are six permanent men in the department and ten minute men. C. \Y. Keiser has been chief since October 15. 1906, succeeding C. O. Jones, who had been chief for two or three years previously. Chief Jones' predecessor was Mont Battenfield, who succeeded E. M. Heller, whose predecessor was W. E. Moore.

It will be remembered that in laying oui the town of Delaware, the square bounded by North (now Central Avenue), Sandusky, Winter and Franklin Streets was set apart for church purposes, including the cemetery. After a short time a change was made in this plan, and lots in different parts of the town were given to the churches, and the square originally set off was utilized for building purposes. A few burials were made in the lot now occupied by the Court House and Library, then known as Briar Hill, but on April 4, 181 1, a part of lot No. 5, situated on the southeast corner of North and Sandusky Streets, was sold to the trustees as a burying ground, for which they paid $50. This property was not used as a cemetery, however, the trustees deciding that an acre of ground situated east of Henry Street, where the railroad now passes, and owned by Dr. Reuben Lamb was better suited to their purpose. This was purchased and began to be used in 1S12. The following winter and spring a number of soldiers were buried tbere. Many of the old settlers were buried there without anything to mark their graves, and the place of their burial was long ago obliterated. In excavating for the railroad, all vestiges of remains were taken up and reburied in the later cemetery just north of the old one.

About 1820 an association was formed which purchased about two acres of ground adjoining the old cemetery on the north, and this was added to from time to time until it extended to Delaware Run. By 1850, it became necessary to have more ground for burial purposes. Accordingly, on the 13th of July in that year, the citizens of Delaware held a meeting at the Court House for the purpose of forming a cemetery association. Emery Moore acted as chairman and C. C. Chamberlain as secretary. A committee composed of Dr. R. Hills, C. C. Chamberlain. D. F. Mc- Cullough,, James Eaton and B. Powers, was appointed to inquire into the wisdom of enlarging the cemetery in Henry Street or selecting a new location. After giving the matter most careful consideration they reported in favor of purchasing the Kilbourn farm, which was located about a mile south of the central part of the cillage, on the west side of the river road. This property extended about eighty rods on the road, and was about one hundred rods from east to west. The surface is undulating, abounding in situations which make it admirably adapted to the purpose. A little rivulet runs through the northern part of the grounds from east to west, reaching out its branches into all parts of the tract.

The impressive ceremony of dedication was held in the grove, in the northwestern portion of the grounds, Thursday morning, July 20, 1851. The day was beautiful, and the concourse of citizens large and attentive. The first burial in the cemetery was on the day of dedication, immediately after the ceremonies of the occasion. An amiable old lady, Mrs. McCracken, who had lived just her allotted time of three score years and ten. was thus fitly appointed by Providence to lead in "the way of all flesh." The cemetery failed to be self-supporting, and after a conference between the trustees and the City Council, it was unanimously decided to deed the cemetery to the city. This was done on May 25, 1863.

In April, 1887, Mayor Henri E. Buck ordered an election of cemetery trustees in accordance with the revised statutes. Section 2518. The election took place April 4, 1887. The following gentlemen were elected : V. T. Hills, for three years; John W. Watkins, for two years; H. J. McCullough, for one year.

The board organized at the office of the city clerk on April 8th, when the following officers were elected: President, H. J. Mc- Cullough; treasurer, V. T. Hills; secretary, Matt. H. Wagner.

The superintendent, J. J. Reeder, who had charge of the grounds for twenty-four years, resigned, and the trustees appointed superintendent. David Grinton.

In 1 89 1 the trustees started condemnation proceedings on a tract of land comprising about fifty acres adjoining the cemetery on the west, and extending through to Liberty Road. Title to this property was acquired in 1893. The following year a stone chapel and vault was erected and dedicated. In 1901 the bodies that had been buried in the old cemetery on Henry Street were removed to Oak Grove Cemetery.

On May 4, 1903, the trustees were legislated out of office and the cemetery was turned over to the Board of Publrc Service. On August 31, 1905, the lot owners held a meeting at the First National Bank, at which were present : R. W. Reynolds, J. D. VanDeman, R. J. Cox. George H. Waldo. J. J. Shur and

D. H. Battenfield. Mr. Reynolds was chosen chairman and Mr. Battenfield secretary. As a result of this meeting a corporation under the name of The Oak Grove Cemetery Company was formed. On February J3, 1906, the following gentlemen were elected trustees : Dr.

E. M. Hall, president; Dr. C. G. Lewis, vicepresident; George W. Powers, treasurer; D. Grinton, secretary and business manager. On February 19th of the same year, the cemetery was turned over by the Board of Public Service to these trustees.